Don't Let The Menopause Depress You - Redefine Yourself!

Menopause is often a time when depression sets in. But is it due to the menopause, or is it, maybe,due to the changes that occur at the age menopause occurs.

It's often a time when children are leaving or have left home, leaving you to reassess your life and redefine yourself, and that, can be scarey!

Before reaching for the bottle of Prozac, it's worth trying to face your fears, anger, sadness, regrets etc. Of growing older, letting the kids go, not acheiving what you had hoped from life, not reaching your potential.....the list goes on.

A really good way to do this is to use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), and once you are proficient in this, an offshoot of the technique, which I find easier, TAT, which I use all the time.

If you do need that extra help,remedies which are useful are St John's Wort (check with doctor or pharmacist if taking other medication), Rhodiola Rosea and L-theanine.
Also have a look at 5-HTP which is a metabolite of Trytophan which increases Serotonin and posssibly Melatonin levels in the brain and so helps with depression and insomnia. 5-HTP doesn't agree with everyone, so if you get any undesirable effects with it, stop taking it.

Take this time as an opportunity to chase away those demons, once and for all!

Menopause And Insomnia

Insomnia can be a real plague during the menopause, because this is precisely when you need the healing and uplifting power of sleep the most.

There are many remedies that can be of help in helping you sleep, including Valerian, Melatonin and even Homeopathy.

Try the different options and see what suits you best. Valerian is the most popular one and works very well on most.

If you must take prescription medication (on the advice of your doctor of course), make it short term.
Whatever you do, try not to get into the habit of taking prescription sedatives!

Menopause Is A Time Of Freedom

You feel a wave of heat creep up your whole body. Suddenly you're really hot and want to take all your clothes off. Then you realize, it's a hot flash and you're about to enter the menopause.

Menopause brings a whole different set of challenges to deal with, but the key is, not to get despondent or disheartened, but to to relax and open yourself up to the possibility that it is just one other transformation in life that will bring its own benefits and self growth, remote as that may seem right now!

Try and see the menopause as a time of freedom!!
Freedom from the pain of periods, the risk of getting pregnant and freedom from being a mum to small children.

Hot Flashes During The Menopause

Hot flashes and night sweats can be precipitated by falling estrogen (oestrogen) levels and can be accompanied by feelings of anxiety.

The first thing to try for regular hot flashes is Sage, either as a tincture or tea. This helps rebalance the sweat regulating mechanism in the brain. This non hormonal method works well for many women. You can take this throughout the day, or once in the day and then experiment with increasing doses at night, if night sweats are your worst problem.

If this doesn't work, you can try Black Cohosh which mimics estrogen in the body ie it's a phytoestrogen. It cannot be taken with HRT though.

Vitamin E also helps. Take 200iu to 400iu daily.

Increase the amount of phytoestrogens in your diet. One way to do this is to eat the menopause cake (yes it does exist!).

Take some milk thistle after meals. Milk thistle is an excellent remedy for the liver and this can help your liver which is probably stressed at this time of life.

Also check that the hot flash is related to the menopause. Other illnesses also cause hot flushes as do some allergic reactions.

Menopause Does Not Cause A Woman To Gain Weight

A report published in the peer-reviewed journal Climacteric, by the International Menopause Society, found that the menopause does not cause a woman to gain weight, however, it does affect the way fat was deposited in the body.
Regardless of whether a woman put on weight or not, the menopause did cause a shift of body fat from the hips to the abdomen.
The review group of the International Menopause Society considered the evidence on why women gain weight around the menopause and concluded that the weight gain seen around the menopause is more due to ageing and environmental factors and is not hormonal.

Abdominal fat is a problem as it increases the risk of future problems such as diabetes, heart disease, sexual function and quality of life in postmenopausal women.

Their advice to women is to take early steps to ensure they don't gain excess weight after the menopause and to stay in shape by being active and exercising.
Some women may also benefit from estrogen therapy, but the pros and cons must be assessed with the doctor first.